KK Limbhasut inches ahead for 36-hole lead at California State Fair

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After sharing the first-round lead at 5-under par 67 with UC-Santa Barbara freshman Zach Smith, Thailand native KK Limbhasut posted 68 on Sunday at Haggin Oaks to enter the final day of the California State Fair Amateur Championship with a one-shot lead. Limbhasut, who went to high school in Loma Linda, Calif. and is a sophomore at UC-Berkeley, will head to Labor Day Monday with a slim one-stroke advantage over University of Nevada-Reno golfer Jooho Lee of Canada. Lee fired 66 in the second round to build upon his opening-round 70 and jump into second place. Meanwhile Smith, of Pleasanton, Calif., posted a respectable 71 on day two and trails Limbhasut by three and sits in a tie for fourth place with Jamie Cheatham, whose 7-under 65 was the lowest score of the day. Limbhasut placed third in last year's event, four behind winner Corey Pereira, and through 36 holes, sits at 9-under par 135 — just like last year. This time around, instead of trailing the leader by three after two rounds, he'll take a slim lead to Monday. Limbhasut's summer has consisted of solid performances in major invitaitonals, including his best performance — third at the Trans-Miss. He also placed in the top-25 at the Sunnehanna Amateur and Pacific Coast Amateur. Former UCLA golfer and Santa Maria, Calif. native Reilly McMahon carded 67 on Sunday and is in third place at 7-under. Thirteen players are within five shots of Limbhasut as the third and final round looms tomorrow, and considering the amount of rounds in the 60s posted during Sunday's second round (18), there should be a significant number of players in contention down the stretch on Monday afternoon.